Angel of Death I
by paraxdice
Summary: Ayuu learns through an angel of death that her 5 year boyfriend is going to die of an illness and she plans to avoid that at all cost; even at the cost of her own life. Season II coming out next!


**Angel of Death****  
Your soul is more important than my life…**

"Ayuu! Oi Ayuu! Wake up you stupid pig!" a guy with silver hair and lilac brook eyes said as he shook a girl with long wavy light green hair who was sleeping away like a pig on the bed.  
"Mmmph… Five more minutes…" Ayuu moaned, turning her body to the right.  
"No way! Now get out of the bed you ugly pig!" the guy said and started pulling her hair.  
"Ow-ow-ow-ow-OUCH! Let go of my hair Shiki!" Ayuu shouted, waking up in an instant as she popped open her light pink eyes.  
"Like finally. I thought the pig would remain sleeping even if it means that I need to shave her hair bald," Shiki said, letting out a sigh of relief as he let go of Ayuu's hair and made his way out.  
_'Wha… WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSE TO MEAN?!'_ Ayuu thought, furious.

Hey there! I'm Chiyako Ayuu! A cheerful and energetic 18 year old! I live in a family of three and we lead a rather normal life in a very normal house! That guy just then was Shiraishii Shiki, the person whom I detest and love the most! 3 He may seem a little bad but let me tell you a secret, in reality, he actually cares for me the most in this entire universe! You may have guess, be it correct or wrong, I'm gonna tell you right now! He is my boyfriend! That's right! We've been going out for 5 years now plus he's the coolest guy in school! A very weird way of showing his love towards me right? But I still love him the most!

"Ayuu! Are you done yet?! I don't wanna be late for school 'cause of you! I'll kill you if that really happens!" Shiki shouted from downstairs.  
"Coming!" Ayuu shouted as she rushed out of the door.  
"Ooh! My favourite pancakes!" Ayuu said in delight with glimmering eyes upon entering the kitchen.  
"Stop fantasizing about the pancakes and eat them!" Shiki said, passing a fork and a knife to Ayuu.  
"Thank you Shiki!" Ayuu said, giving him a morning kiss on the cheek as she sat next to him.  
"Wha… What do you think you're doing..?!" Shiki stuttered as he blushed deeply, not knowing how to react.  
"Hehe! 3 payment for pulling my hair this morning!" Ayuu said with a smile as she bit off the pancake.  
"Ayuu. You shouldn't do such daring stuff while me and your mother are still around," a man with black hair and dark blue eyes said, sitting down opposite Ayuu.  
"Come on dad! He's my boyfriend after all! Plus it's not like I kissed him on the lips!" Ayuu said, a little upset.  
"Aww darling. Ayuu's right. They are a couple after all~! Let them do what they want!" a lady with brown, mid-length curly hair and yellow eyes said, sitting down next to Ayuu's dad.  
"See? Even mom agrees! 3" Ayuu said, happier after hearing what her mother said.  
"Rather than chattering away about the kiss… Can you hurry up finish your pancake so that we won't be late for school?!" Shiki said, hot under the collar as he wore his shoes.  
"Okay okay! Coming!" Ayuu said, proceeding towards the door.  
"You should learn to get up earlier on your own by now. You are 18 this year for god's sake," Shiki said, opening the door.  
"No way! I'm gonna act like a spoilt brat for the rest of my life so that Shiki can continue being attracted by me!" Ayuu said, standing up and leaving the house.  
"What if I'm no longer here?" Shiki said with a serious tone just before opening the gate that leads to the pathment as he turned to look at Ayuu with a slight absence in his eyes. At that moment, Ayuu was completely taken in by the way Shiki looked at her, the only thing that could be heard was the wind, blowing her hair and the fallen leaves of autumn.  
"Wha… What kind of joke are you trying to pull! You'll never leave my side right? You said that when we first started going out!" Ayuu said with a smile, changing the tense mood.  
"You never know," Shiki said as he opened the gate and walked away.  
"Shi..ki..?" Ayuu said worriedly. Ayuu then walked along the pathment alone and thought, '_What does he mean..?' _Upon reaching school, someone suddenly pounced on her from behind and said, "Where's the energetic Ayuu I know? Isn't the mood a bit off~?"  
"Yu- Yuzuru!" Ayuu said with a shock as she turned and saw a girl with short yellow hair and black eyes.  
"Hello! What's up? Not feeling well? What's with that gloomy face of yours? Definitely not the Ayuu I know alright!" Yuzuru said with a smile.  
"It's nothing! Just a little nauseous! Anyway, how was your debut to become a mangaka?" Ayuu asked.  
[*Note: mangaka is an occupation who draws manga(Japanese comic)]  
"I passed obviously!" Yuzuru said happily with proud.  
"That's great! Good for you! Should have expected none other than the great Yuzuru artist!" Ayuu said on cloud nine.  
"That's right! All the other mangakas are inferior to me now that I have made my debut! Muahahahahaha!" Yuzuru said, laughing out evil laughs.  
"If it isn't the horrible descendant of Pablo Picasso," a guy with dark blue hair and red eyes and a pair of handcuffs in his hands said, walking past the both of them.  
"Repeat that again Arashi Yukito… What did you say you stupid Sherlock Holmes descendant?!" Yuzuru shouted and World War 3 started…  
_'Better leave those two alone before I get caught up in the mess as well.. By the way, where is Shiki? I haven't seen him since I set foot in school…'_ Ayuu thought, saddened by the fact that they didn't walk to school together. The rest of the day was spent in misery as Ayuu could not spot Shiki in the entire school building during lunchtime. Neither did she receive any text message or calls from him. Angry and upset at the same time, Ayuu decided to have lunch on her own at the school rooftop where nobody goes. She sat on one of the brown, wooden benches laid beside the azure swimming pool.  
"Stupid Shiki… Saying stuff like that and disappearing all of a sudden… That's too much… Not a single text message or call from you… Could it be that you have really left my side..?" Ayuu mumbled, tears of sadness rolling down her red, puffy cheeks as she looked down to her lunch box.  
"Was I the one you were calling too much?" a familiar voice said as someone sat down next to her.  
"Shi.. Shiki..?" Ayuu said in an instant as she looked up and saw Shiki.  
"Is… Is that really you..? Shiki..? Is it..?" Ayuu said, tears still rolling down her cheeks as she touched Shiki's face.  
"No, I'm not real," Shiki replied nonchalantly;  
"I knew it.." Ayuu said, "I must be hallucinating.."  
"Are you stupid? Of course it's me you idiotic pig!" Shiki shouted, smacking Ayuu's head lightly.  
"Shi.. Shiki? Really?!" Ayuu said, a smile appearing on her face.  
"Obviously… Who else would bother comforting you at a time like this other than me..?" Shiki said, looking away as he blushed.  
"Shiki!" Ayuu suddenly shouted and hugged Shiki tightly.  
"Wha.. Whao hey..! What are you doing?! We are in school for god's sake!" Shiki shouted, shocked at the sudden hug and blushed even deeper.  
"It's nothing! I just missed you so much!" Ayuu said happily.  
"Ayuu…" Shiki mumbled and hugged her back, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to leave you alone. I was busy doing some stuff.."  
"It's alright! I'm happy with just you here by my side right now!" Ayuu said with a big smile.  
"I love you.." Shiki mumbled and kissed her forehead.  
"Huh? What was that?" Ayuu asked, looking up at him.  
"There you are! I couldn't find you and started getting worried!" Yuzuru shouted as she appeared at the doorstep with Yukito.  
"Ah! Yuzuru! Sorry to make you worry!" Ayuu said, getting up as she hugged Yuzuru. Just then, the school bell rang, signaling that lunch break is over and class is starting soon.  
"Mann.. Why do lunch breaks always end so fast while lessons seem like 100 years of torture…" Ayuu complained as she packed her lunch box.  
"Quit whining and go back," Shiki said, petting her head as the both of them headed back to class.  
"You still haven't told her?" Yukito asked when Ayuu and Yuzuru were a distance away from them.  
"No… Not yet.. Her birthday is coming Sunday. I don't want to tell her for now.. Not just yet," Shiki said, frowning.  
"I'd suggest you tell her soon. Girls tend to be more sensitive after they find out how long this kind of thing has been kept silent from them, especially if it's someone they truly care for," Yukito said as he started walking while Shiki just stood there clenching his fist.  
"Hey what are you guys doing! We are gonna be late for class!" Ayuu shouted from the door.  
"Coming coming!" Yukito replied and turned back to look at Shiki, "Aren't you coming?"  
"Yeah..." Shiki said as he walked towards them, head hanging low.  
"Shiki! Are you not feeling well?" Ayuu asked, popping up in front of Shiki's face.  
"Nah I'm fine," Shiki said as he gave her a smile.

'_Wha.. WHAO..! Shiki looks just like an angel when he smiles! How cute!'_ Ayuu thought, blushing and said, "Anyways hurry up! We're gonna be late!" before running off next to Yuzuru.

Class then passed by slowly, like a hundred years of torture. After school ended, it was about 2pm by then and the sun was starting to get real hot.  
"Ayuu. I have club activities today until 6pm. Do you want to wait or go home first?" Shiki said, walking over to Ayuu's seat.  
"I'll wait 3 But you have to walk me home 'kay? And by the way, have you been eating well? You seem to have slimmed down a lot compared to when we first met!" Ayuu asked, worried that Shiki may be having problem with his diet these few days.  
"I'm fine.. Just not much of an appetite these few days you know," Shiki said, when he felt a stinging pain in his right arm, causing him to react with a rather painful expression on his face.  
"Shiki. Are you really alright? You don't look so well? Maybe you're having a fever?" just when Ayuu was about to touch his forehead, Shiki grabbed her hand, pulled her towards him and gave her a tight hug while assuring her, "I'm fine. Don't worry about me alright?"  
"Y.. Yes..!" Ayuu said, weak against Shiki and the hug.

Ayuu then sent Shiki to the judo where he learns karate and then loitered round the school on her own. She was bored but her love for Shiki made her stay and wait for him. She strolled and strolled and strolled, until she came to the school old backyard. Ayuu then recalled all the memories she had spent here with Shiki, where she first confessed to Shiki, where they first flew kites together, where they said their vows together… Everything that she first did with Shiki… Not far beyond the horizon, she then saw a faint figure, a very faint one. It had a huge pair of white feathery wings behind its back. Curious, Ayuu walked towards the faint figure, only to see a boy of about 10 years of age with dark red hair and dark green eyes. But he didn't seem normal; he was rather translucent and wore a long white angelic robe. Ayuu thought she was seeing things and then hit herself in the head extremely hard.  
"OUCH!" Ayuu let out the only thing she could after being hit so hard on the head by herself.  
"What's wrong with that girl..? Hitting herself like that… Is she a nutcase?" the boy said, looking at Ayuu with a weird expression.  
"Hey you little guy. That's rather rude for someone you just met," Ayuu said, irritated by his attitude.  
"You… You can see me..?!" the boy asked, shocked that Ayuu could actually see him.  
"Obviously! I'm human ya know?!" Ayuu said, furious.  
"But I'm not," the boy said bluntly.  
"I know-. Wait. WHAT?!" Ayuu shouted suddenly and scrutinized the boy.  
"N.. Now that I think of it.. You are kinda translucent and you have those huge pair of wings…" Ayuu said.  
"That's because I'm an angel, Michiru Daichii," the boy said with an angelic smile.  
"Oh I see-. Ok. Wait again. WHAT?!" Ayuu shouted once again.  
"That's right. So normal human beings like you shouldn't be able to see me unless you hold great amount of feelings for the one I'm going to take to heaven," Daichii said.  
"Take to heaven..? You mean, death?" Ayuu asked.  
"Yep. The Angel of Death," the boy said with a synical smile.  
"But… Who's life are you taking that I hold a great amount of feelings for..? I don't recall anyone around me having any health problems or issue?" Ayuu asked, puzzled.  
"A guy by the name of Shiraishii Shiki," Daichii said. Ayuu's eyes widened in shock as she froze momentarily upon hearing the name. The place was enveloped in silence and the only thing that could be heard were the leaves that rustled in the tree with Ayuu rooted to the ground at that spot.  
"Ah… HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! What kind of joke are you trying to pull? There's no way Shiki is dying anytime soon! He's such a fit guy! He even joins karate ya know?" Ayuu said, taking it as a joke.  
"I'm not joking. I never do when it comes to death cases at least," Daichii said, his voice getting broader and deeper.  
"Er… Are you some kind of nutcase?" Ayuu asked, knocking his head and pulling his wings to see if they are real.  
"It's fine if you take it as a joke. But the day it comes, you'll know that I am serious," Daichii said before spreading his huge feathery wings and flew away.  
_'That… That guy just flew…' _Ayuu thought, shocked.  
"But Shiki dying..? He doesn't have any health issues... Does he..?" Ayuu mumbled, picking up her bag. She gazed at the scenery around her with tears forming in her light pink eyes. She dropped her bag and fell to the ground as she mumbled, "Shiki can't die…" She then made her way to the judo where she saw Shiki and another guy having a one-to-one combat battle.  
"Uwahh..! Shiki's so coool~!" Ayuu said, her glittery eyes fixed on Shiki's movements. Shiki kicked the guy down to the floor, but before he could lock him in that position, he lost control over his right arm once again and crumbled down to the floor.  
"Beee- Beeeeeeeeeep!" the instructor blew the whistle after 3 seconds and said, "Shiki! Are you alright?!"  
"Shiki! Get a hold of yourself! Does your right arm hurt again?!" the guy asked as he got up in an instant.  
"I'm fne," Shiki said, gripping onto his right arm tightly.  
"Shiki, if you want to, you know you can always take a rest and come back here until you are fully recovered right? You don't have to force yourself if your body condition is not up to it," the instructor said, walking towards the two guys.  
"But I don't want Ayuu to suspect anything, please let me remain in this club. At least until I graduate if I am still alive by then," Shiki said, getting up.  
"Are you su-," Shiki cut the instructor with an immediate reply filled with confidence, "Yes. I'm very sure. As long as Ayuu doesn't find out, I'm willing to give it my all until my very last breath so as to that she does not have to go through such unnecessary worries."

'_Wha.. What is Shiki talking about..?! What body condition and what thing until he graduates if he is still alive..?! Plus why does he not want me to know..?! Aren't I his girlfriend?!'_ Ayuu thought, tears rolling down her eyes once again.

"No! I mustn't cry! I musnt't!" Ayuu mumbled, slapping her face as she wiped her tears. Just when she was about to get up, she lost her balance and crashed right through the judo doors.  
"A.. Ayuu..?!" Shiki said in utter shock when he saw her.  
"Hehe! Kinda tripped just when I wanted to open the door!" Ayuu said, smiling and giggling away like some idiot as she tried to hide her swollen eyes.  
"Ayuu…" Shiki said in a deadly tone when he spotted Ayuu, "How many time must I tell you not to come see me practice during club practice..?!"  
"But..! But..! Shiki was just so cool I couldn't take my eyes off of you!" Ayuu said elatedly.  
"Seriously.. What am I gonna do with you. Wait here for awhile," Shiki said and went back in.

'_I must not let him know that I heard what he was saying just now… He would get seriously pissed.. But why is it that as his girlfriend… I have no idea what he was talking about just now..?!' _Ayuu thought, her eyes teary once again as she held those tears back, not wanting to cry in front of Shiki.

Not long after, he came out with a light pink box with a dark pink ribbon on top of it in his hands and passed it to her and at the same time said, "It's something I happen to pass by and I thought it would suit you.."  
'Suit me?' Ayuu thought as she received the gift with both hands and said, "Thank you Shiki! I'll treasure it forever!"  
"It's nothing much re-.." Shiki was interrupted by Ayuu's ear-piercing shout, "Waaah! What a long pair of ribbons! It's silver to add on to it! The same as Shiki's hair colour!"  
"Like I was trying to say… it's not rea-…" Shiki was once again interrupted by Ayuu, "Thank you Shiki! I'll wear this everyday from today onwards!"  
"Eh..? No you really don't have to…" Shiki said but was silenced by the scene of Ayuu untying her long light green hair. The blue sky could be seen through Ayuu's light green hair, making a beautiful turquoise colour.  
"There, done! How do I look?" Ayuu tied the two front portions of her hair by twirling the pair of silver ribbon on each side and leaving the rest untied, making it look tidy yet loose and messy. Shiki did not know how to complement the beautiful and sophisticated Ayuu he saw with his eyes and could just stare.  
"Shiki? What's wrong?" Ayuu asked, moving closer and started fidgeting with her hair, "Do I look weird?"  
"..tiful.." Shiki managed to utter out something.  
"Huh?" Ayuu asked, moving even closer.  
"I said you're beautiful you pig head!" Shiki said all of sudden, grabbing Ayuu and hugging her.  
"Did… Did you just said that I'm beautiful..?" Ayuu asked, not believing what she heard as Shiki usually calls her ugly.  
"Ya ya! So what!" Shiki said, hugging her even tighter.  
"Yay! Shiki finally called me beautiful!" Ayuu said and gave Shiki a kiss on the left cheek.  
"You..! What are you doing?! We are at school ya know?!" Shiki shouted, flustered by the kiss.  
"Come on! It's only on the cheek!" Ayuu said happily, grinning from ear to ear.  
"Oi Shiki! How long are you going to take a break for! Hurry up and come back!" the instructor shouted, calling for Shiki to go back.  
"Coming! So are you still going to wait?" Shiki asked before going back in.  
"Yep! I'll wait for you at the school main gate 'kay?" Ayuu said.  
"Sure. See ya later then," Shiki said and went back in.

'_I can't help but keep thinking about what Shiki said before…'_ Ayuu thought as her legs went weak and her entire body just dropped to the floor.

By the time Shiki ended it was already 6pm and the sun was losing its energy. Ayuu and Shiki walked along the dim-litted pathment up the hill, hand in hand.  
"See ya tomorrow Ayuu," Shiki said, seeing her off at her house gate.  
"Shiki.. You're not going to die are you..?" Ayuu mumbled, her vision becoming blurry thanks to the tears.  
"Huh?" Shiki asked, turning back.  
"It's nothing!" Ayuu said in a cheerful tone but the tears that rolled down her cheeks said it all.  
"Ah… That's weird.. Haha… Why am I crying..?" Ayuu thought when she realized tears dropping onto the floor.  
"Ayuu..? What's wrong? Why are you crying?" Shiki said, touching her cheeks and clearing the tears away.  
"It's nothing.. I guess I'm just worried about the up-coming mid-years… Ahaha… But that's weird.. I never cry over it.. Why is it that.. I can't stop crying..?" Ayuu said, wiping the tears that seems to be overflowing from her eyes. Shiki then petted her head and said, "You'll do fine. You always do, don't you? Although you're always one rank below me which is a sad thing or you'll be able to be the first in cohort-.."  
"Uwaaaaah!" Ayuu cried even louder.  
"Wha.. Whao hey… I was just joking.. I'm sorry if it was too harsh.." Shiki said, letting Ayuu's head rest on his chest.  
"I'm just scared that Shiki will leave me behind..!" *sniff* Ayuu said, tears still rolling down.  
"Ayuu, promise me something?" Shiki said, raising Ayuu's head up.  
"What.. is it..?" Ayuu asked.  
"Promise me that you'll chase after me so that I would never leave you behind," Shiki said, his voice going lower.  
"Shiki.." Ayuu mumbled.  
"Then swear and these silver ribbons that shall represent this vow that you make," Shiki said, running his long fingers along the silver ribbon.  
"I swear," Ayuu said with a gentle smile on her face as she kissed the ends of both the ribbons.  
"I swear that I'll never leave Ayuu behind as well," Shiki said and kissed the end of the two ribbons as well.  
"An… An indirect kiss!" Ayuu said unintentionally, widening her eyes.  
"Now that I think of it, we haven't had our first yet have we?" Shiki said, smiling at Ayuu slyly.  
_'Eh! Don't… Don't tell me we're going to do it now?!'_ Ayuu thought when she realized that Shiki was moving closer towards her and closed her eyes.  
*chu*  
'Eh..?' Ayuu thought as she opened her eyes, only to see Shiki smiling away.  
"You..! You kissed my forehead?!" Ayuu shouted.  
"Haha! Got'cha," Shiki said and ruffled her hair before leaving, "See ya tomorrow."  
_'He… He deceived me… And on top of that, he hasn't said a word about what he was experiencing in the judo earlier…'_ Ayuu thought, depressed as she made her way in.  
"I'm home!" Ayuu said as she entered the house, taking off her shoes.  
"Welcome back, how does sushi for dinner sound?" Ayuu's mother's voice travelled from the kitchen.  
"Sounds great!" Ayuu said and proceeded upstairs to her room.  
"Welcome back, Chiyako Ayuu," Ayuu opened the door, only to see Daichii sitting on her study table.  
"Daichii?! What are you doing in my room?!" Ayuu shouted.  
"Ayuu? Are you okay?" Ayuu's dad popped his head in.  
_'That's it.! I'm doomed!'_ Ayuu thought, knowing that she has got not enough time to cover Daichii.  
"There's no one in this room dear. Who were you shouting to?" her dad asked.  
"Huh?" Ayuu said, turning to look, Daichii still sitting on the table.  
_'Oh yeah… Normal humans aren't able to see Daichii…'_ Ayuu thought and said, "It's nothing! I'm just imitating one of the characters in the movie who are able to see stupid angels that others can't!"  
"Stupid angels?" Daichii repeated after her, annoyed.  
"O.. Okay..?" Ayuu's dad said and closed the door.  
"So, what are you doing here?!" Ayuu said, trying to keep her voice down.  
"I'm… Going to be living here from now on," Daichii said bluntly with his angelic smile again.  
"HUH?" Ayuu asked, dumbfounded by the answer.  
"What do you mean you're living here from now on?! This ain't your house! This is mine! Now get out!" Ayuu said, opening the window for him to fly out.  
"No can do. Since you are the only one who can see me, it's natural that I live here with you," Daichii said, "by the way, it's summer and it just rained, wouldn't all the water from the rain come in?"  
"Eh..? GEHH?!" Ayuu shouted when she realized that the water is dripping into her room and onto her study table.  
"Aaah! My 1 month project!" Ayuu said, slamming the window shut and grabbing the hairdryer, trying to use it to dry the papers.  
"It's no use! The ink's smudged!" Ayuu shouted in desperate after 30 minutes of holding the hairdryer trying to dry the papers, "and my hands hurt!"  
"Sad life you humans lead…" Daichii said, sitting on the bed, cross-legged.  
"It's all your fault! YOUR FAULT!" Ayuu shouted.  
"If I can help you get it back to normal, you have to promise to let me stay here until I take Shiki to heaven. Deal?" Daichii proposed.  
"Anything's fine! Just help me return it back to normal!" Ayuu said, not thinking about he conditions for even a second.  
"Wise choice. Close your eyes," Daichii said, flying up. Ayuu then closed her eyes.  
"There. Done," Daichii said, "Now open your eyes."  
"Waah! Thank you so much Daichii! I love you!" Ayuu said happily when she opened her eyes and saw her original project back to normal.  
"So now you'll let me stay here?" Daichii asked.  
"Of course!" Ayuu said then paused for a while.  
"Wait. WHAT?!" Ayuu said after she realized what she just said.  
"Thank you!" Daichii said as he sat on her bed.  
"Argh! Why did I have to agree to you?!" Ayuu shouted, banging her head against the wall.  
"Because you have a kind soul. Good night," Daichii said and fell straight into a deep sleep after laying down on Ayuu's bed.  
"Oi! Don't sleep on my bed!" Ayuu said, shaking Daichii vigorously but to no avail.  
_'Man… Even Angels need sleep huh?'_ Ayuu thought, stroking the sleeping Daichii's hair.  
_'Oh well. I'll let him sleep on my bed for tonight,'_ Ayuu thought and went down to have dinner. Later that night, Ayuu was doing her homework after she had bathe when she realized that she had lost her eraser.  
"Argh damn eraser… Why do they always go missing…" Ayuu said as she got up and rumbled through her cabinet for one. As she rumbled through the cabinet, she saw an old picture of her and Shiki taken in the amusement park in her birthday last year after they had started going out for about a year.  
"This sure brings back memories!" Ayuu whispered softly as to not wake Daichii up. The both of them were sharing one chocolate ice-cream in the picture where they stood in front of the ferries-wheel.  
"I feel like going back there again…" Ayuu thought, remembering the times where she and Shiki spent the day with nothing to worry about.  
"Shiki… Why..?! Why must you die so early..?!" Ayuu said, tearing as she gripped onto the picture tightly and before she knew it, she had fallen asleep.  
"..Yuu! ..Ayuu! Wake up you pig!" Ayuu could hear a familiar voice calling out to her.  
"Mmmph… Shiki..?" Ayuu mumbled in her sleep.  
"Yeah it's me. What are you doing sleeping on the floor without a blanket? Aren't you cold?" Shiki asked, kissing the end of her long light green hair.  
"Shi..?! Shiki?!" Ayuu shouted in shock and got up immediately, "Wha.. What are you doing here?!"  
"Huh? I come to wake you up every morning don't I?" Shiki asked, bewildered by the question.  
"Oh ya! That's right! I forgot! Sorry!" Ayuu said cheerfully, scratching her head.  
"By the way… Why are you sleeping on the floor? Weren't you cold?" Shiki asked, covering her with his jacket.  
"You could have just slept on the bed you know? I don't mind," Daichii said from behind Shiki.  
"Of course you wouldn't mind you stupid Angel! You're the guy here not me!" Ayuu shouted at Daichii.  
"Ayuu? Who are you talking to?" Shiki asked, looking back but saw no one.  
_'Oh.. I forgot that I'm the only one who can see Daichii…'_ Ayuu thought and said, "Hehe! How was my acting skills? Liked it? I acted rather real right?"  
"Ayuu, I didn't know you were interested in the acting career? I always thought you wanted to become a doctor," Shiki asked, rather surprised.  
"Eh. That is. I was just testing out my skills. It's not like I really wanted to become an actress. Of course I'm still fixed on becoming a doctor!" Ayuu said, smiling away.  
"That's great. I'll achieve your dreams with you too then," Shiki said, ruffling her hair.  
"Shiki…" Ayuu said, her eyes glittering once again.  
_'Uh-oh..'_ Shiki thought when Ayuu suddenly pounced on him and gave him a tight hug and said, "I love you Shiki!"  
_'I knew it…'_ Shiki thought and hugged her back in return or it'll feel rather awkard for himself.  
"Oi. Can you not PDA when I'm around?" Daichii asked, staring at the both of them intensely.  
"We are not! And to start off with, this is MY room! You are the one who suddenly came!" Ayuu shouted, getting up.  
"But since there are people here, it's considered PDA right?" Daichii asked, flying up to avoid the pillow that Ayuu threw at him.  
"Shut up you stupid Angel!" Ayuu shouted and started chasing Daichii around. Shiki just sat down there, shocked by how 'wonderful' Ayuu's acting is and what trying to figure out what exactly she's trying to act out.  
"Just so you know, your lover is still here ya know… And he's watching you like you're some crazy woman," Daichii said, pointing at Shiki.  
_'Oh crap!'_ Ayuu thought and turned to Shiki, "Ahahahaha! So what do you think? Was I good?" Shiki just sat there, staring at her quietly.  
"I think you can go join the audition for a mad character in one of the movies…" Shiki 'complemented'.  
"What kind of comment was that?!" Ayuu asked.  
"Anyways, we're gonna be late if you don't hurry," Shiki said and left the room.  
"Ah mann. Now Shiki must be thinking that I'm some sort of crazy girl!" Ayuu shouted, "It's all thanks to you you stupid Angel!"  
"What?! My fault?! It's your own fault for over-reacting!" Daichii shouted.  
_'Who could Ayuu be talking to… She keeps saying Angel Angel Angel… Is she really just acting it out..?'_ Shiki thought, worried as he stood outside the door.  
"Ayuu, it's your birthday this Sunday right? Anywhere you wanna go?" Shiki asked when Ayuu reached the dining room.  
"Like a date? 3" Ayuu asked, gleaming with delight.  
"Something like that I guess," Shiki said, biting the bread.  
"Really?! Yay~! I wanna go to the aquarium!" Ayuu said in an instant, "then, then, I wanna go to do…. Kyaa! I can't wait!"  
"I can't bring you to so many places in one day ya know..? I ain't superman who can fly.." Shiki said, amazed at the number of places she can blurt out in one minute.  
"Then I just wanna go to the aquarium!" Ayuu said happily.  
"Oh one more thing I have to tell you. His death date is this coming Sunday, 19/06 at 1906hours," Daichii's voice echoed in Ayuu's mind. Ayuu's eyes widened in utter shock and froze momentarily.  
"Ayuu? Were you listening to what I was saying?" Shiki asked, waving his hand in front of Ayuu's eyes.  
"Huh? Oh, sorry. I was just thinking of something. What was it?" Ayuu asked, coming back to earth.  
"I said, if you want to, let's meet at 11 at entrance of the aquarium. The one that recently opened around the February of this year right?" Shiki said.  
"Yeah!" Ayuu said happily as she picked up the utensils and thought, _'my date with Shiki… On my birthday… The day he's dying..'_  
"I'm sorry. I'm not hungry anymore," Ayuu said, putting the utensils down and getting up, "Shall we make a move first Shiki?"  
"S.. Sure..?" Shiki said and thought, '_Ayuu doesn't feel like eating..? Is she really alright..?!'_  
"Ayuu, are you feeling alright?" Ayuu's mother asked worriedly.  
"Yeah I'm fine, I just don't really have the appetite," Ayuu said, wearing her shoes at the doorstep.  
"Okay. Take care dear," Ayuu's mother said and the couple made their way out.  
"Hmmm hmm hmmm~!" Ayuu hummed the melody of 'My Heart Will Go On' as she skipped down the hill happily.  
"Ayuu," Shiki suddenly said and stopped walking.  
"Hmmm? What's wrong Shiki?" Ayuu asked with a smile on the face as she turned back. Before she knew it, Shiki was hugging her so tightly, she couldn't breathe.  
"Shi… Shiki.. I.. I can't… Can't breathe…" Ayuu struggled to force the words out.  
"Ah, sorry," Shiki said, loosening the hug.  
"Shiki? Are you alright? You don't seem so good," Ayuu asked, touching his forehead.  
"Well you don't have a fever… Are you not feeling well?" Ayuu asked in a worried tone as she touched Shiki's left cheek.  
"Ayuu, are YOU alright?" Shiki asked, emphasizing on the word 'YOU'.  
"Huh? I'm fine! What could possibly be not alright with me?" Ayuu asked hugging Shiki, "You must be thinking about me too much! Thanks Shiki! I really love you!"  
_'Me too Ayuu… I love you too…'_ Shiki thought as he raised her head. His face moved closer towards Ayuu's, wanting to kiss her. Ayuu too wanted to kiss. The two closed their eyes. Just when their lips were about to touch, Shiki's phone rang, bringing them back to life, "Jingle bells~ Jingle bells~ Jingle all the way~!..."  
"Shiki. You do know Christmas is over already right..?" Ayuu asked.  
"Of course I know that! But I was too lazy to change so I just left it. Hello? Ah yes this is Shiki. May I know who's over the phone?" Shiki asked, picking up the phone. Shiki kept silent for a second, making Ayuu rather curious so she asked, "What's wrong Shiki? Who is it?"  
"Erm. Would it be alright if I meet you later this afternoon? I am currently rather busy.." Shiki said over the phone, trying to avoid eye contact with Ayuu for the time-being, "Yes. Around 4pm would be great. Thanks."  
"What's wrong? What's going on at 4?" Ayuu asked as Shiki put down the phone.  
"No it's nothing," Shiki said, grabbing her hand, "Shall we go? We're gonna be late for school."

'_He's hiding something from me again…'_ Ayuu thought, feeling uneasy about where he might be going this afternoon. Unlike all other days, today time seem to be passing by at the slowest rate imaginable. Classes weren't just hundred years of torture, more like million years of torture. And worse still after school, she had planned to go eat ice-cream with Shiki and just when she was visiting the toilet, Shiki messaged her saying that he was sorry and that he had to go meet someone else. '_Oh well.. I knew he was going somewhere today anyway… WAIT A MINUTE! I'M SUPPOSE TO STALK HIM!'_ Ayuu thought, running outta the cubicle and pass the school gates but Shiki was nowhere to be found. Just then, Yuzuru and Yukito who were childhood friends since young along with Shiki happened to pass by and saw Ayuu, so they went up to bid farewell for the day.

"Wait guys! Have you guys seen Shiki?!" Ayuu asked just as they were about to leave in the opposite direction.  
"He is a-," Yukito got interrupted as some girls who past by happened to be giggling and saying, "That's her! Shiki's girlfriend who just got dumped! 3 I heard him over the phone with this girl called Saya Chiharu! Heard that the both of them were having an appointment or something at 4."  
"Haha! Serves that ugly girl right! She should not have acted so over-friendly with Shiki!" the friend said as the both of them started laughing out loud on purpose for Ayuu to be able to hear them.  
"Those b*tches! I'll show the-!" Yuzuru was stopped by Yukito who pointed at Ayuu who was hanging her head down low.  
"Ah look! It's Shiki! And what' he doing with such a beautiful, mature woman!" another random girl pointed out to Shiki who was a bit further away with a tall, sleek, beautiful lady who had long refined, straight black hair and eyes as gold as the real gold itself. Not long after, they just disappeared into the horizon where Ayuu could no longer see.  
"Ayuu.. It's not like what you think they said you kno-.." Yukito was interrupted by her sudden action of rising up a cheerful face and said happily, "Haha! I knew this was gonna happen somehow or another! Since Shiki is so popular, smart, handsome and rich! I am just the exact opposite of him! I already saw this coming soon anyways!"  
"No Ayuu..! That's no-," Yuzuru once again got cut by Ayuu's cheerfulness, "It's alright! I don't think he seriously took me as his girlfriend anyways! Hehe! Oh look at the time! Well, I should be going now shouldn't I! See ya guys tomorrow!"  
Having said that, Ayuu bid her farewell and rushed off as fast as possible back home.  
"I'm home!" Ayuu said, taking off her shoes.  
"Unusually early today aren't ya! Where's Shiki?" her mother asked.  
"Shiki's at school preparing for his next judo competition!" Ayuu said in a happy tone as she rushed up the stairs and into her room where she locked herself.  
"Whao.. What's wrong.. What's with the sudden mood swing and all the tears gushing out from your eyes.. It's scary ya know.." Daichii said, thinking that it may comfort her but it just made her feel worse. All she could do for the next 2, 3 hours or so were just spilling out all of her sadness and what Shiki and his new girlfriend might be doing right now.

'_Hah..! They must be holding hands and walking down the street together happily which Shiki rarely ever does with me except on days where his moods were really good! And they are probably eating the ice-cream at the ice-cream shop Shiki was supposed to bring me to today! Hehe! After all I'm just a plain, ugly girl in Shiki's eyes aren't I.. And we haven't even had our first kiss yet…'_ Ayuu thought, salty streams of river trickled down her red, puffy cheeks as she tried to force herself to laugh.

"Why am I so useless..?! Why can't I stop crying..?!" Ayuu said to herself, as she cried herself to sleep.  
"What the heck..?" Daichii mumbled to himself as he watched Ayuu cry, nothing else but just silently watching her..

"..Yuu..! ..Ayuu..! Ayuu..!" Ayuu could hear someone calling her name over and over again in a really familiar voice but all around her was just pitch black and there was nobody in sight.  
"Who..? Who is it..?" Ayuu asked, fearing it might be _him_.  
"It's me..! Shi-.." before the person could finish saying his name off, Ayuu shouted in fear and woke up on her bed, inside her room, only to know that it was a dream.  
"Oi Ayuu! Wake up you piggy!" Shiki said, taking her blanket away from Ayuu.  
"EH?! SHIKI?!" Ayuu asked in utter shock, not believing what she's seeing.  
"Yes? You have a problem with me here?" Shiki asked, bewildered.  
"N.. No.. It's nothing.." Ayuu said and thought, '_But I thought he dumped me?!'_  
"Hurry up or we'll be late for school piggy!" he said as he made his way out.

Ayuu turned to look at Daichii and Daichii just said, "What?"  
"You heartless angel," Ayuu said as she got ready for school and made her way down to the dining room.  
"Good morning Ayuu," her dad greeted.  
"Hey there dad, mom!" Ayuu said, trying to act normal.  
"Morning my dear Ayuu!" her mother said, "Go have a seat next to Shiki, the toast is just about ready!"  
"Ah.. Okay…" Ayuu said, a little change in her voice when his name was mentioned. She took a seat next to Shiki's, not very sure about how to act around him. Just when she was staring at Shiki and how beautiful he was, Shiki's eye made contact with hers and she unintentionally avoided eye contact in an instant.

'_Shoot! It was my reflex! Oh!'_ Ayuu thought as she got up and said, "Oh shoot! Forgot that I was supposed to meet Yuzuru this morning to prepare for something later on! I'll go on ahead first then! Byes!"  
Having said that, she ran out of the house with her shoes half worn without answering her parents' confusion.

'_I didn't realize eating with Shiki and my parents can make me feel so awkward…' _Ayuu thought, stopping to catch her breath when she reached the school gates.  
"Ah look! That's her!" Ayuu could hear the girls who were entering the school gate said as they pointed at her.  
"Seriously?! THAT one?! No wonder she was dumped! Wonder how Shiki dealt with her for five years!" another said as they started giggling.

'_Wow.. News sure travel fast eh…' _Ayuu thought, trying not to think about what they said.

"Ah! Ayuu!" Ayuu heard a familiar voice from up ahead and looked up, only to see Yuzuru smiling away and greeting her with happiness, "Hey there! Rare to see you this early in school!"  
"Heh..! Yeah! Thought I should exercise coming to school earlier you know," Ayuu replied, pasting a fake smile on the outside.  
"Eh? Where's Shiki?" Yuzuru asked, looking around for Shiki.  
"Erm.. He didn't com-," Ayuu was interrupted by a faint shout from a distance away, "Ayuu!"  
"Oh there he is! I was wondering where he went!" Yuzuru said and turned back to look at Ayuu who happened to be hanging her head down, "Ayuu? Is something the matter?"  
"Huh?" Ayuu asked as she looked up, realizing that it was him and pasted back on her smile before saying, "Yeah, I'm fine-"  
"NOT!" Yuzuru finished the sentence for her, lightly slapping Ayuu's two cheeks, "You are SO obviously worried about something! Is it because of yesterday?"

'_Yesterday…'_ Ayuu thought and quickly snapped herself back to reality to prevent herself from going into those thoughts once again.

"No really! Not at all! I'm totally fine with it! Heh!" Ayuu said elatedly, hoping her fake cheerfulness worked.  
"Ayuu!" Shiki said when he managed to catch up to her from behind, "What were you doing? Leaving so suddenly like that? Is something wrong?"  
"Er- I- That is-," Ayuu stuttered, not knowing how to reply when Yuzuru cut in and said, "Ayuu and I promised to meet up earlier this morning! So don't worry about it yeah!"

'_Yuzuru…'_ Ayuu thought, '_it was as though she knew what I wanted her to say…'_

"Well you could have at least explained right..! Do you know how worried your parents and I were when you dashed out of the house just like that?!" Shiki said, furious. But Ayuu didn't reply and just remained silent.  
"Look at them! Did they really break up? Oh my god!" a group of girls who were entering the school happened to past by and saw that scene and like usual, started gossiping as well.  
"Didn't you know?! Shiki went out with such a hot beauty yesterday! I can't remember her name though!" one of the friends within the group commented.  
"That's right! I saw them too! I think her name was.. Saya.. Chi.. Chi something..! That's right! Saya Chiharu! I even overheard the both of them talking over the phone and changing the meeting place or something like that!" another one said.  
"Oh yeah! I saw them yesterday outside school! That woman was drop-dead gorgeous! And she looked much more mature than we do! I bet she was in her early twenties!" the first one said.  
"Oh oh and here's the best part! I heard that that girlfriend of his happen to saw them both together and she wasn't even the least bit sad about it! In fact, she acted as though nothing was wro-" one of the girls were interrupted when Yukito cut into their conversation with a low, deadly tone, "This is as far as you ladies go. I don't like the sound of an ear-piercing scream so if you still wanna live on, scram off this instance."  
Yukito's glare was so intense, the girls quickly apologized and ran straight into the school building. Shiki who heard every single bit of noise they were making turned to look at Ayuu whose head was hanging down and made eye contact with Yuzuru. Just when Shiki was about to stroke Ayuu's head, Yuzuru's hand cut in as she shook her head, indicating that it may be best to leave her alone for now.

"Why is everyone so quiet! It's so not like us don't you think!" Ayuu said as she lifted her head up with a huge smile.  
"Ayu-.." Shiki was interrupted by the school bell.  
"Ah! The school bell! We should be heading to class yeah!" Ayuu said, still in a happy-go-lucky fashion as she grabbed Yuzuru's hand and dashed into the school building as Yuzuru got dragged on behind, leaving Shiki there with Yukito.  
"And I bet you still haven't told her. That's why she mistook Saya for your girlfriend eh?" Yukito asked.  
"Shut up," Shiki said, vexed enough as he walked away.  
*Sigh* "Some things are just better off told in the first place," Yukito mumbled to himself, a picture of Yuzuru unconscious and drenched in blood flashed in his mind for a second, causing him to nearly lose his balance.  
"Whoa.. And I thought I finally got rid of that event," Yukito said before making his way in.  
"Ah look! That's her!" some girls along the corridor Ayuu and Yuzuru were walking in started pointing at Ayuu and gossiping.  
"Shiki isn't with her…" another said.  
"Does that mean they really broke up?! After 5 years?!" the first one said.  
" Can't you guys just shut up for once b*tches?!" Yuzuru shouted at them, pissed that they kept on gossiping and gossiping, as though they have nothing better to do everyday.  
"Yuzuru," Ayuu grabbed Yuzuru's shirt before she could start punching up some girls. Yuzuru turned to look back where Ayuu was shaking her head and said, "I'm fine, let them say whatever they want. Since it's true anyways."  
"No Ayuu! It's not true that Shiki went on a date with Sa-," Yuzuru was interrupted as Ayuu gently placed her right index finger over Yuzuru's lips and said in a soft tone, "Please, I beg of you.. Say no more than that…"  
Ayuu then turned to look at the opposite direction as she removed her index finger from Yuzuru's lips and walked away.  
"Hey I wanna go to the toilet.." Yuzuru said and entered while Ayuu waited outside. Suddenly, Ayuu heard shouts and ran in to see if she was alright.

She then saw Yuzuru screaming in front of the mirror with her hand at her head and the water left running.

"Yuzuru! What's wrong?! You alright? Did something happen?" Ayuu asked, worried and frantic as she rushed over to Yuzuru's side but Yuzuru kept screaming as though she didn't noticed Ayuu by her side.

'_Yuzuru can't go back to class in this state... And why is she like that in the first place?!'_ Ayuu thought, frantic as Yuzuru has never acted like this before.

"Yuzuru, stay here and don't move okay?" Ayuu said and rushed out of the toilet. A few minutes later upon reaching back, Yuzuru was still doing the same thing but this time Ayuu, instead of trying to pull Yuzuru out from the toilet, chased the other girls out instead. When she finally chased everyone out, she herself left as well but the person who came back in was different.

When Yukito saw Yuzuru, the same picture of the unconscious Yuzuru covered in blood flashed across his mind once again along with other pictures that showed Yuzuru in deep pain or blood oozing out from hideous scars all over her. Other pictures of similar or rather, the same incidents kept running through his mind so fast, it started animating itself, as though he was brought back to that same time that caused everything to change. It was so real, Yukito startled himself, and was snapped back to reality.

"Yuzuru? You alright? Ayuu told me you've been acting weird ever since you entered the toilet.." Yukito asked, entering the toilet. Yuzuru just remained silent and looked into the mirror, only to see the reflection of Yukito. She instantly smacked herself in the face, wondering if she was just thinking too much.

Meanwhile in the hallway, Shiki was on his way to class when more and more girls started crowding around him as he 'no longer' has a girlfriend anymore. Within a minute, he was surrounded by so many girls, all he could was just stand and entertain them reluctantly. Just then, Ayuu happened to be walking past and saw that so many girls were surrounding him, she was ready to lose it any moment. Shiki noticed her and her only, but when he made eye-contact with her, Ayuu just turned and walked away.

"A-!" Shiki wanted to shout out to her but the girls kept interrupting. Ayuu just left, not wanting to see his face.  
_'Ayuu…'_ Shiki thought, his heart uneasy.

Ayuu walked back to her class, grabbed her bag and left… She once again passed by Shiki but with her head hanging low, not wanting to notice he was there at all.  
"Ayuu!" Shiki shouted, ignoring all the other girls as he wanted to get Ayuu's attention but Ayuu just pretended she didn't hear and continued walking, "Ayuu! Ayuu!"  
"Come on Shiki! You don't need to feel bad for her! It's not like she cares anyway!" one of the girls said, holding his hand.  
"Why don't you come hang out with us after school! We're going karaoke today!" another said.  
"I'm so-," Shiki was about to apologise when he felt a gentle tug from behind and turned around, only to see a shy girl who was probably still in her first year.  
"Er.. Um.." the girl stumbled and her friend nudged her to encourage her, "Plea.. Please go out with me!"

Shiki knew this girl was different from the rest, in fact much like Ayuu when Ayuu first confessed to him in Junior High. He felt bad if he were to reject her but…  
"I'm sorry… But to me, Ayuu's probably gonna be the only one in the whole of my life.." Shiki apologized sincerely.  
"I.. I see…" the girl said, her voice a little shaky but she still smiled and said, "Thank you for listening though!"  
Shiki smiled as the girl and her friend made their way down the corridor.  
"Ayuu!" Shiki shouted, still able to see a faint image of her.  
"Forget it Shiki! She has already left you! You still have so many of us to choose from anyway!" a girl said, putting her arms around his neck.  
"That's right! She's just an ugly b*tch! You don't need to care about her!" another said, grabbing his arm.  
"Don't touch me," Shiki's voice instantly changed, becoming more intense and his glare startled them off.  
"Wha.. What's wrong Shiki? Hah-," the girl got interrupted by Shiki, "Shut up and scram off b*tches. Before I make your life a living hell."  
"Wha- What?! We were just trying to comfort you! What's with that attitude of yours?!" the girls said and stomped off in anger, followed by some other girls. The remaining ones were rather persistent but eventually still left after 20 minutes or so.

'_Ayuu..!'_ Shiki thought as he turned the instant the girls left but someone happened to grab him by the hand, causing him to turn back and see who it was.  
"Yukito! Let go of me! I need to go get Ayuu!" Shiki shouted at Yukito who was holding him back.  
"I'll let go after I give you something," Yukito said and punched him in the face.  
"Wha- What the f*ck?!" Shiki said, Yukito adding on the anger.  
"How dare you make Ayuu cry?! Because of that, Yuzuru isn't any better and she's crying, probably even harder than Ayuu you bastard!" Yukito shouted back at him and calmed down so as to not raise his voice too much, "You better not make Ayuu sad 'cause it affects Yuzuru as well. I hope you saw what shit Ayuu is going through now and how it actually affects Yuzuru."  
After that, Yukito just left, leaving Shiki there..  
"I also want to know what shit she's going through!" Shiki mumbled in anger, crashing his hand against the school window, causing it to shatter.

"In the darkness, I wait.. For my white prince to come.. Though I know, the risk is high.. I still took the chance, and went for it… And no-now I pay the p*hiccup* price… For b-believing such foolishness… In this world, th-there's no su*hiccup*such thing.. As what we c-call… Tr-True… L-Lov-.." Ayuu sang and bit by bit, she could feel her voice shaking.. Before she know it, all she could do was cry...

'_He's not coming.. He's not coming… Shiki… He doesn't want me anymore..._' Ayuu thought, her heart throbbing like she's about to jump off a building and suddenly, everything in her mind went blank. All she could hear was his voice calling out to her, "Ayuu..!"

"Where am I..?" Ayuu asked, only to find herself in the middle of a flower filed, filled with millions of different coloured flowers of different breeds. She stood up and looked around, but she could not see anyone within the horizon.

It was a peaceful place like paradise where you could hear birds chirping away and smell the fragrance of the flower as the wind light brushes against her smooth, fair skin.

"How nice it would be if life were to be like this everyday… where there is nothing to worry about…" Ayuu said as she sat on a lush, green lawn and looked up into the sky, remembering what Shiki and her used to do in the past where they would lie on a patch of grass along the river near her house and look up into the sky.  
"Shiki… I love.. You… And I always… Will.." Ayuu mumbled to herself as she closed her eyes and the next thing she knew when she opened her eyes, she was in a completely different place, much like a room that looked awful lot familiar to her. Then it struck her.  
"Ayuu," she heard _his_ voice next to her.  
"Shi.. Shiki..?" Ayuu mumbled, not daring to turn as she would never ever mistake someone else's voice for his or mistake his for any other's.  
"Why won't you turn and look at me?" he asked.  
"Haha! What are you talking about! Of course I will turn to look at you! It's just that I was having a bit of jetlag just now!" Ayuu said, closing her eyes as she turned and smiled at him.  
"Open them," he said.  
"Open what?" Ayuu asked, still smiling.  
"Your eyes," he said, his voice getting deeper.  
"Come on! It's not like you've never seen my eyes before!" Ayuu said, still smiling, still laughing which made Shiki pissed.  
"Plus don't you have a new girlfriend now?" Ayuu said with a sincere smile, happy for him that he found such a good woman, "Don't you think she'll misunderstand if she saw both of us in your room alone?"  
"Shut up," Shiki mumbled but Ayuu just continued as though she never heard as it was so soft, "So you don't need to feel bad for me or ask for a break-up because I knew today was coming already anyways!"  
"Shut up," Shiki said a little louder but Ayuu still ignored, "Oh and you don't need to worry about me forgetting you 'cause I never will 'kay!"  
"Shut up!" Shiki shouted as he got up on his bed and threw himself over her on his bed and gave her a kiss, so rough yet gentle and full of compassion.  
"Mmmph..! Shi..?!" Ayuu tried to push him away but her hands were locked down onto the bed, preventing her from pushing him away.  
"Hah..!" Ayuu let out the minute Shiki backed off, "What was that for?! Don't kiss your ex-girlfriend when you already have another one!"

Ayuu whose heart was in a mess, couldn't even tell if she was sad, happy, angry, anxious or scared. Everything was like a glass of miscellaneous liquid, all mixed up and dissolved. She thought that by feeling happy for Shiki, she could easily let him go but now that Shiki gave her that heartwarming kiss, she couldn't stand it anymore and just started crying and sobbing.

"Why… Why did you kiss me… I.. I wanted to let.. Let you go by feeling ha.. Happy for you but now… Now I… I…" Ayuu tried forcing out the words one by one but kept swallowing at times, making her speech all wobbly. Shiki just inched closer to her, their lips just about a cm apart. She pushed Shiki away and said, "No.. No don't… I.. I may never be.. Able to let you.. G.. Go… Go.."

Shiki touched her rosy cheek gently, slid it down towards her chin area and turned her head towards his before giving her a kiss on her right cheek, followed by the left cheek, then the forehead, her nose, her chin and finally, on her lips once again. The kiss felt so gentle and at the same time for some reason… Remorseful as well…

"Ayuu," Shiki said, as he parted his lips away from hers, "I love you, and I always will only love you."  
"Shi..ki..?" Ayuu asked, a bit confused to why he's still telling her he likes her.  
"The girl I was meeting yesterday, Saya Chiharu, is my specialist. She's a doctor specialized in Leukemia and other types of cancers," Shiki said, head hanging down.  
"Leu.. Leukemia and cancer..?" Ayuu asked, not wanting to hear what comes out next from his mouth.  
"I have a cancer called Primary Brain Tumor and to be precise Glioblastomas," Shiki said, looking straight into Ayuu's eyes and he could tell what she was thinking, anyone would, just by the eyes she were giving him, straightforward yet wondrous, close-up yet distant, shock yet… Shiki just looked down, not so sure of what to say next.  
"Saya's a specialist I'm currently seeing since she's a distant relative of mine. And yesterday wasn't what you think it was. I was meeting up with Saya 'cause she just changed the location of her new clinic and I didn't know how to get there. That's why she came to school to get me, I wasn't on a da-," Shiki paused the minute he heard Ayuu sniffing and looked up, only to see Ayuu's tears streaming down her rosy cheeks like a waterfall that never ends, "A.. yuu..?"  
*sniff sniff* "I.. *hiccup* I'm so so.. Sorry.. *hiccup* I thought I lost y *hiccup* you.. *sniff* I.. I didn't kno *hiccup* know about all these *sniff*, even tho.. though *hiccup* I'm your girlfriend… I.. I'm * sniff* sorry…" Ayuu sobbed, sniffing and hiccupping along the way.  
"Ayuu.." Shiki said and pulled her towards him and hugged her.  
"I love you," Shiki said, "And I always will, even in my next lifetime."  
"Shiki..?" Ayuu asked as Shiki gently laid her down on his bed.  
"I can't wait anymore. I want to hurry up make you mine. I don't want you to belong to any other. Only mine, you belong to me and only me," Shiki said, touching her forehead as he leaned in towards her face, "May I?"  
Ayuu smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him towards her even closer till their lips touched.  
"We've just had our first kiss 5 minutes ago and we're already progressing this far?" Ayuu teased.  
"Shut up," Shiki blushed and kissed her even more…

"I'm back!" Ayuu said as she took off her shoes.  
"Welcome back Ayuu, how was school today?" her mother asked.  
"Great," Ayuu said as she ran up the stairs.  
*Bang* Ayuu slammed the door shut. Her face was bright red as she sat on the floor and she then started screaming like some lunatic.  
"Hey chill man!" Daichii said, scared that she may still be in her mood swing mode.  
"Hehe!" Ayuu laughed to herself.  
"Have you forgotten?" Daichii asked.  
"About?" Ayuu said.  
"His death," Daichii said, piercing straight into Ayuu's heart.

Ayuu had forgotten that… She was so happy today, she did not think about it even once..

"I.. I didn't forget! How could I?!" Ayuu shouted, pissed and angry at herself for not being able to do anything after knowing this and the fact that Shiki's got Primary Brain Tumor.  
"2 more days…" Ayuu mumbled to herself but Daichii happened to hear it, "I don't want it… I don't want my birthday to come…"

'_It's not like I've never been through this before…_ 'Daichii thought, remembering the day he nearly lost his younger twin sister..

"Daichii Daichii!" a girl with long, straight dark red hair and green eyes of about age 10 shouted from across the house, "Hurry hurry! If not the meteor shower is gonna be over!"  
"I'm coming! Don't be in such a rush Aiko!" a boy who looked identical to Daichii ran across from the kitchen to the house door where Aiko was waiting for him.  
"Let's go let's go!" Aiko said, pulling Daichii out of the house when he wasn't even done wearing his sandals yet and shouted, "Oi! My sandals! At least let me wear them properly!"  
"There's no time! Hurry!" Aiko said, as she ran even faster, up the stairs till they reached the rooftop.  
*Huff huff* "Lucky it hasn't started yet!" Aiko said, laughing.  
"Yeah!" Daichii said, laughing along.  
"Ah! It's starting it's staring!" Aiko said as she pointed to a shooting star.

Within seconds, thousands of them accumulated into sky as though the entire sky was covered in a blanket of sparkles. Like lightning, everything just disappeared in the blink of an eye and the meteor shower was over.

"Did you wish for something?" Aiko asked enthusiastically.  
"Huh? Was I supposed to wish for something?" Daichii asked, surprised.  
"EHH?! You mean you didn't know that if you made a wish before the meteor shower ended, it will definitely come true?! You didn't know?!" Aiko asked, depressed.  
"You sure?" Daichii asked, not believing, "Well, what did you wish for then?"  
"I wished that we could be together forever! Living happily under one roof with mama and papa!" Aiko said in a cheerful voice.  
"Heh, I'll definitely make that come true one day!" Daichii said, giving her a hug.  
"Okay! It's a promise then!" Aiko said and the two of them made the pinky promise.

But it never happened… Aiko died a week later in a dreadful accident along with their mom and dad, leaving Daichii alone… Daichii who was still ten then was so shock as he stood in front of the damaged car, couldn't even feel sadness. Until he saw three translucent human-like figures with huge feathery wings, descending on the ground, next to the family members. One of them noticed Daichii staring at them and went over to ask, "You can see us?"  
Daichii just nodded… Not knowing what to do or feel…  
"You must be the twin brother of the girl," another who was crouching next to Aiko said.  
"W.. Who are you guys..?" Daichii asked.  
"We're angels. Here to collect your family members to heaven," the last said.  
"A.. Angels..? Co.. Collecting to heaven..?" Daichii repeated after him.  
"That's right, your family members were fated to die on this day so we're here to collect them," the first said as he lifted Daichii's mother's soul and kissed it, causing her to vanish like dust.  
"N.. No!" Daichii shouted at the one who nearly kissed Aiko's soul, "Don't take their souls! Take mine instead! Please! I don't want Aiko to die like this! Please!"  
He cried so hard, the three angels looked at each other and nodded their head.  
"Michiru Daichii," the first said, "You can exchange your soul with theirs however, there's a condition. You will not go to heaven, nor will you go to hell. You will simply be the messenger between all three worlds like us and you'll be doing what we're doing now. Are you able to go through all these?"  
Daichii looked up at them and then to Aiko and his parents who were laying there… He bit his lips and said, "Yes…"

"..Chii..! I said.. DAICHII!" Ayuu shouted straight into Daichii's face, pulling him back into reality.  
"Yes? What?" Daichii asked nonchalantly.  
"Geez! What were you doing staring off into blank space," Ayuu said, "Anyways, want some?"  
Ayuu handed him a honey-coated sweet and said, "It always cheers me up when I'm sad! I don't know what you were thinking about but you seemed depressed! Hope you feel better after eating this yeah!"  
"W.. Why are you treating me so good..? Even though I'm taking your most beloved's life..?" Daichii asked, clenching the sweet in his palms as Ayuu popped one of it into her mouth.  
"Because I thought about it… No matter how much I cry or beg… It's not like I can change the fact that he's dying right?" Ayuu said with a smile.  
"You can…" Daichii mumbled to himself.  
"What was that?" Ayuu asked.  
"I said, you can change the fact that he's dying!" Daichii shouted in her face.

Ayuu stared at him in utter disbelief as the sweet dropped out from her mouth.

"Wha- What did you just say!?" Ayuu shouted at him the very next second, grabbing him by the cowl draped collar.  
"But only if you sacrifice your own and become an angel.. Like me…" Daichii's voice trailed off and Ayuu thought, '_Was he once human too..? Wait, that's not the point for now!'_  
"So- So you mean if I trade my life for Shiki's, he will be able to avoid death?!" Ayuu shouted in his face once again.  
"That's right," Daichii replied blatently. Ayuu sighed a sigh of relief and slowly let him go as she approached her bed, "So all I had to do was trade my life for his eh… Geez, you should have told me sooner."  
"It's not as easy as you think…" Daichii said.  
"Why not? All I have to do is trade my life in for his right?" Ayuu asked.  
"Well, physically it would be easy but… Mental wise… It's something that cannot be overcome easily," Daichii said, his head hanging low.  
"What do you mean..?" Ayuu asked.  
"Let's say you do trade your life in for Shiki's, you will be a messenger between Heaven, Earth and Hell. An Angel. And an Angel of Death to be precise, where you often spend time on earth as an angel, near the ones you love but they don't know you're there and taking the lives of the one people love.. It's a difficult job.. Especially when you first start out, will you be able to accpet the fact that you literally vanished without a trace from all your loved one's memories? Will you be able to resist the temptation of approaching them? 'Cause if you do, you'll be sent to hell. But that's not the worst, in the far future, you never age, you remain as you are but Shiki will continue to grow and meet new people along the way. And what if... What if decides to have a new girlfriend? Will you be able to take it?"

Ayuu jolted upon the two words 'new girlfriend' but smiled and said to Daichii, "I'm ready to give in my all for Shiki and as long as he is happy, so am I."  
"Are you an idiot?!" Daichii stood up, shouting at her, "How can you be happy while the one you love, the one you saved, will love another other than yourself?!"  
"Because I love him and I want him to be happy all his life," Ayuu said with another smile again.  
"Shu- Shut up!" Daichii said and flew out of the window and Ayuu shouted, "Daichii?! Where are you going?!"  
"Ayuu..?" she heard Shiki's voice and turned around, only to see Shiki right there, standing at her room door.  
"Shi.. Ki..?" Ayuu asked in a robotic voice when she suddenly rememebred what they did just about an hour ago and started blushing like a bright red apple and stuffed her head under her pillow and started screaming.  
"O- Oi!" Shiki said, trying to stop her as he closed the door and sat next to her, pulling her head out of the pillow and giving her a kiss to shut her up. He slowly parted his lips when Ayuu has calmed down and said, "Geez! Why are you so shocked in the first place? Aren't I always coming by?"  
"B- B- B- But we just did it an hour ago!" Ayuu mumbled as soft as she could, not wanting to let her parents hear which made Shiki burst out laughing.  
"Wha- What's so funny!" Ayuu shouted for real this time, throwing her pillow at Shiki and hiding her head under her pillow once again.  
"Hahahaha! But they way you conveyed that messaged was just so hilarius! Hahahahaaha!" Shiki said and continued laughing till Ayuu couldn't take it anymore and got out from hiding and asked, "Geez! When are you gonna stop laughing?!"  
"Come 'ere," Shiki said and pulled her towards him, embracing her in his arms.  
"Shi- Shiki!" Ayuu blushed even more and Shiki said, "Shh, just stay like this for a little while more. Please…"  
"O.. Okay…" Ayuu couldn't retaliate and instead, enjoyed the embrace as she snuggled within Shiki's arms.  
"Neh Ayuu," Shiki said, stroking her silky green hair and running his fingers along the white ribbon he tied around her hair and Ayuu replied, "Yeah..?"  
"I know now's not the appropriate time and all.. Especially since you've just learnt about my illness and all but… Will you… Marry me..?" Shiki mumbled loud enough for Ayuu to hear. Ayuu froze momentarily, trying to digest what he'd just asked her and she raised her head, asking, "Was that a… Proposal..?"  
"What sort of stupid question is that..." Shiki said, looking away. Ayuu's face beamed like a candle in the dark as she wrapped her arms tight around Shiki's waist and said, "Yes!"  
Shiki lifted her head up and gave her another kiss…

"Damn it," Daichii said, looking down on the city lights from the top of Tokyo Tower.  
"Why did I tell her all those…" he mumbled to himself, raising his head up to admire the stars, a tear trickling down his cheek as imaes of Aiko and his parents flashed through his mind, "Aiko…"  
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" a shriek rang in his head followed by the sound of honking cars and a car crash with glass shattering, catching his attention as he stood up in a split second and scanned the area. Then a scroll descended from the sky, landing in his hands.

"Northwest of Tokyo Tower. Coordinates XXXXXX. Michiru…" his voice fading away as it wrote 'Michiru Aiko to be picked up at 2346.'  
_'No.. No way… Aiko..? In a car crash again..?!'_ he thought and before he knew it, he was flying at full speed towards the venue of the car crash.  
"Aiko! Aiko! AIKO!" he shouted with everything he had when he saw a woman in her mid 20s with with long, straight dark red hair and eyes closed, accompanied by another man of about the same age with blonde hair and he thought, 'a foreigner?'  
The man who seemed like the taxi driver was unconcious with blood dripping all over his head and suddenly, the foreigner started getting up, screaming at the sight of a blood-covered Aiko.  
"Aiko! AIKO!" he shouted while carrying her in his arms and shaking her, "Aiko! Wake up! Wake up please! Aiko!"

'_Could he be Aiko's..?'_ Daichii thought as he stood there, looking at the two of them as the foreigner desperately attempted to wake her up. Daichi walked towards the two of them and bent down next to Aiko, catching the attention of the foreigner.

"An.. An angel..?!" the foreigner said in shock. Daichii nodded his head as he searched for Aiko's pulse. Suddenly, the foreigner grabbed his hand and shouted at him, "You're an angel aren't you?! What are you doing just staring at Aiko like that?! Save her! Save her please!"

Daichii flinged the foreigner's hand aside and said, "That's right. I'm an angel. An Angel of Death."  
"An angel of d- death..?" the foreigner stuttered.  
"Are you her… Boyfriend..?" Daichii asked.  
"Fiance… I'm her fiance…" he replied.  
"So you were finally gonna get married huh…" he turned to tell Aiko.  
"Who are you..?" the foreigner asked.  
"Her older twin brother," Daichii said, stroking Aiko's forehead.  
"Older twin brother..? B- But I've never heard her say anything about it before.?" The foreigner said.  
"She forgot about me.. That's why..." Daichii said, giving Aiko a kiss as a tear rolled down his cheek and within a split second, her soul ascended from her body. The eyes of her soul opened and saw Daichii as she smiled and said, "Daichii..."  
The very next second, her soul vanished into thin air, leaving her body there... Dead.  
"Aiko... Aiko..! Aiko! No!" the foreigner repeated, "NOO! AIKO!"  
"Thanks for making her life a memorable one," Daichii said with a smile filled with sadness as he flew away.

"Shit... Shit..! SHIT!" Daichii shouted at the top of his lungs as he recalled the scene where Aiko called out to his name.  
"Why..! Why must I be the one to pick you up! Why couldn't you live longer and enjoymoe with your fiance?! Why is heavan so cruel?!" Daichii sobbed atop Tokyo Tower.

"You're back! Where did you go?!" Ayuu asked, worried when she noticed Daichii enter her room, his face expressionless.  
"Daichi..? What's wrong?" Ayuu asked, stroking his hair and Daichii looked up and said, "If only I could cry... If only I could cry and let it all out..."  
"Why? Did something happen?" Ayuu asked, worried since he was saying things he normally wouldn't.  
"Ayuu, don't.. Don't become an angel. It's harder than you think, everything is different.." Daichii said looking at her as though he was crying without tears.  
"Why? Did something happen? You don't seem so good..." Ayuu asked, unsure of how to comfot him.  
"The reason why I'm an angel.. Is because I traded my life for my twin sister's who suffered a car accident about 15 years ago. I wanted to let her live her dream of living happily together with our parents forever... And the cost of trading lives, apart from being an angel, was that your family members, your friends, anyone who has ever known you, Shiki... Will all forget your existence while you remember them forever.." Daichii said, looking down, "And heaven is cruel... So cruel... They will send you to go collect the life of the person whom you traded lives for when their time is up again.."

For a moment, the room was silent as Daichii thought about Aiko.

"I won't regret," Ayuu said, causing Daichii to look up.  
"I know it's gonna be hard, looking at you suffer like this but... Do you regret exchanging lives with you sister?" Ayuu asked Daichii and Daichii shook his head without thinking.  
"You don't regret right? Because we love them, we are willing to give in anything for them so... I won't regret it," Ayuu said with a headstrong smile.  
"You're strong aren't you... If only I weren't so weak... Maybe my sister could have lived a longer life..." Daichii said.  
"I think she was happy... That's why she could go in peace," Ayuu said, "Don't blame it on yourself. You gave her the chance and she fulfilled it to the fullest."  
"Yeah..." Daichii said, "She had a fiance even.. I wonder what he's thinking about right now..."  
"I'm sure he's thanking Aiko for all the time they had together though they couldn't spend much time together," Ayuu said, ruffling Daichii's hair and heading towards her bed, "I'm gonna sleep now, you wanna sleep next to me?"

Daichii just quietly lay down next to her and closed his eyes as Ayuu stroked his hair and the both of them fell asleep.

"Ayuu..! AYUU! Wake up!" Shiki said as he shook Ayuu awake.  
"Mmmph Shiki...?" Ayuu asked when she turned around, only tosee his face right next to hers, surprising her till she was wide awake.  
"Took you long enough to get up alright," Shiki said and walked out, "I'll be downstairs."  
"It's tomorrow..."Ayuu mumbled to herself and looked around the room, only to find Daichii missing and thought, '_Where did that little midget go this time?'_

"Aiko..." Daichii said, standing in front of a picture of Aiko in her 20s.  
"It's him! That angel who took Aiko's life! You murderer!" the foreigner shouted pointing at Daichii in front of a crowd. Daichii then spotted his parents staring at him while the other people were puzzled as to who the foreigner was pointing at. Daichii walked towards his parents while they just stared at him, shocked.  
"Don't touch them!" The foreigner kept shouting was soon being led out of the venue as he was making too much of a ruckes.  
"Dad... Mom..." Daichii said with remorse and kneeled before them, "I'm sorry... Daichii couldn't protect Aiko and himself..."

"Daichii..?" his mother repeated and suddenly, all her memories of Daichii started flowing into her and her husband but by the time they wanted to talk to Daichii, he had been set on flames and soon was reduced to merely nothing...

"Morning Ayuu!" Yuzuru said happily as she pounded on behind Ayuu.  
"Morning Yuzuzu!" Ayuu said, beaming with excitement.  
"Whoa what's with the happy aura today?" Yuzuru asked as the both of them headed for the school building.  
"Oh it's nothing," Ayuu said and signalled for Yuzuru to get closer.  
"We kinda... Did it yesterday..." Ayuu whispered into Yuzuru's ears, trying to contain her excitement and Yuzuru just stared off into space blankly.  
"Hey guys," Yukito said when he noticed Yuzuru staring into blank space and waved his hand in front of her, "You alright?"  
"OH MAI GODD," Yuzuru let out, giving Yukito a shock.  
"You guys really did it?! You guys haven't even had your first kiss yet!" Yuzuru said, jumpinng up and down, excited.  
"Um, we kinda did it five minutes after out first kiss," Ayuu said delightedly and the two of them continued squealing in their own world.  
"Hyper much?" Yukito who felt left out, said to Shiki who was just tagging along behind the two luntatic girls.  
"Haha yeah. How are things going for Yuzuru and yourself?" Shiki asked, nearly causing Yukito to fall over.  
"We're okay... I guess..." Yukito said, blushing real, real hard.  
"You should really look at yourself sometime soon whenever you're talking about her," Shiki said, laughing.  
"Shut up..." he said out.  
"Are you... Over that incident yet?" Shiki asked and Yukito's face was no longer blushing as he looked up seriously.  
"Remember how I punched you that day because Yuzuru was upset?" Yukito said and Shiki nodded.  
"That day, Ayuu ran to my class to get me, telling me that something had happened to Yuzuru in the toilet. I freakd out real hard because incidents in the toilets were no joke for the both of us. You remember that Yuzuru had a boyfriend back in junior high right?" Yukito asked, Shiki nodded and continued the sentence, "Didn't they break up after two days or something?"  
"Yeah. Because Yuzuru was being raped and beaten up by her boyfriend's gang. Apparently her boyfriend was the leader of a famous gang in another school but she didn't know since they met online. I happened to be in the area with my girlfriend that time when I heard screams and shouts in a unisex public toilet so I walked in to check if everything was okay. I then saw Yuzuru's infamous bright yellow coach penny bag and I saw the ugly state in which the girl's body was in. I didn't want to believe it but I peered over a bit more, only to see Yuzuru all beaten up and laid unconcious on the floor. Her boyfriend and his gang then just left her like that, laying on the toilet floor. I freaked out and carried her out of the toilet, waiting for an ambulance. After which I took care of Yuzuru while she stayed at the hospital and my girlfriend was not very happy with that so she broke up with me. Yuzuru felt guilty and said that she would be my girlfriend in replace but when I saw what she had just gone through with her ex-boyfriend, I couldn't bare the thought of breaking the fragile her so I rejected her even though I had love her for the longest time in history since we met in kindergarten. She then begged me to make her forget about the rape..." Yukito said.  
"And you agreed?" Shiki asked.  
"I declined at first but when I saw her much pain and sorrow she was in... I couldn't take it. As long as I could see a smile on her face I would do anything.. So... Yeah, we became what people would call 'sex friends' I guess?" Yukito confessed and Shiki just stopped his walking and stared at Yukito in shock.  
"What a pervert! How old were you guys man?! Shit!" Shiki said, not believing what he heard as he catch up to Yukito.  
"Don't make me sound so disgusting.." Yuktio said, regretting he ever told Shiki who was definitely gonna tell Ayuu.  
"But wait, I thought you guys got together officially at the start of high school or something?" Shiki asked.  
"Yeah, we were 'sex friends' for about one and a half years I think before I asked her for an official relationship and she scolded me for being dumb and asking only then," Yuktito said.  
"You really ARE dumb," Shiki said and before he gave a chance for Yukito to retalliate he continued, "Even though you loved her since kindergarten you never realised her feelings for you. Sigh, what a waste. You guys could have been together since way way way earlier and all those terrible things may not have happened to her."  
Yukito was left speechless as they entered the school building.  
"Anyways, I'm sorry for punching you that day," Yukito said as he took off his shoes,  
"I undestand why you did that now," Shiki said, "So don't worry about it."

School for the first time, passed by in the blink of an eyes as the four of them spent the day happily together.

"So do you want to hold our wedding ceremony during graduation?" Shiki asked a question which surprised Ayuu as the two of them walked on the dim-litted pathment.  
"Our graduation day is one day after my birthday which is tomorrow..." Ayuu replied blushing.  
"The faster the better," Shiki said, holding Ayuu's hand, "I don't want to miss the chance of seeing you in a wedding dress and regret for the rest of my life if you get married to another man without marrying me first.."  
"How possesive..." Ayuu replied, chuckling.  
"So?" Shiki asked.  
"Alright then! Since you love me so much~," Ayuu said, hugging his arm.  
"Okay good. Because I got all the preperation ready already," Shiki said and Ayuu looked at him, "Since when?!"  
"Since I found out about my illness, I have been planning this wedding for almost a year now. Everything is done already just the proposal and bride part," Shiki said as he kissed her forehead, "But that one's been settled too."  
"What if I said no?" Ayuu asked.  
"The thing is, you wouldn't," Shiki said and kissed her on the lips and the both of them chuckled all the way to Ayuu's house.

"Daichii! Guess what!" Ayuu said excitedly as she flung open her room door but no one was around and thought, '_Could he still not be back yet..?'_

As she closed her room door, a silver scroll tied with a very very long dark green ribbon that was similar to the colour of Daichii's eyes desencded in her hands and was tagged 'Chiyako Ayuu'.

'_For me..?'_ Ayuu thought and untied the ribbon as she made her way to her study table, placing the ribbon down gently.

Ayuu,

Daichii here. If you've received this scroll, it would mean that I would no longer be on earth. I approached my parents during my late sister's funeral and revealed myself to them since they could see me as Aiko's loved ones. There is a law in heaven where you are to have strictly no connections with anyone who knew you before you became an angel. Including those you love and those who loved you.

As you know, I've been an angel for about fifteen years now and when you told me about having no regrets of letting my sister live a fulfilling life, I decided that my 'job' as an angel was done and I wanted to meet my parents... So I went ahead without any fears or regrets.

Thank you Ayuu, you were a really great friend while I was out to collect your future husband's heart. Sorry I didn't tell you about I even though I knew since I would follow him since the day he found out about his illness. He was suppose to die numerous times but his determination to live on and be by your side was so strong, it overcame his destiny of having to die about nine months ago.

Regarding the collection of his heart, another angel will resume my duty and should arrive approximately 8pm on the night you receive this scroll.

Thank you Ayuu.

May your life always be a happy one,  
_Michiru Daichii_

The second Ayuu dropped a tear on the scroll, it burned into ashes and disappeared, living the long dark green ribbon behind on her table.

"Daichii you idiot! I didn't say it to make you do this!" Ayuu cried and sobbed as she sat at her table.  
"Why are you crying when I haven't even taken his lfe yet," a deep voice suddenly rang across her room and she turned back, only to see a teenage angel with black hair and golden eyes.  
"You must be the angel replacing Daichii..." Ayuu said, standing up but the guy just ignored that and looked around the room, "How do you live in such a matchbox?"  
"Matchbox?" Ayuu repeated after him, irritated by the way he described her room and house. Sure it was small but it's enough to let her parents and herself to survive.  
"Izumi Chiharu," he said, still looking around the room, "Tasked to collect Shiraishii Shiki tomorrow at 1906 hrs."  
"Yeah I knew that," Ayuu said and thought, '_Izumi huh... He seems a lot more different from Daichii who looked like an innocent little ten year old... And there's something different about him... Plus why does his surname Chiharu sound so familiar..?'_  
"You're supposedly his girlfriend right?" he asked, sitting on Ayuu's bed and Ayuu thought, _'though he does resemble Daichii in some ways...'_  
"Yeah, anything wrong with that?" Ayuu asked and looked at him and then she realised what was different about him. He wasn't wearing a white robe like the other normal angels. Rather, he wore a casual white singlet with black skiiny jeans accompanied by white high-cut sneakers.  
"He's standard and yours are a little far don't you think?" Izumi asked, lying down on the bed.  
"You have a bloody problem with that? Plus why aren't you wearing a white robe like the other angels?" Ayuu, who was pissed raised her voice a little.  
"Relax girl, I was just curious to how someone like you became his girlfriend. Plus I don't wear the robe 'cause it's so out of fashion and not my style at all," Izumi said, tucking under the blanket.  
"You can actually wear something other than the robe? And why are YOU in my bed damn it!" Ayuu said, extremely pissed.  
"I made them myself," Izumi said and closed his eyes, "Good night. You can sleep on the floor thanks."  
"Wha-?!" Ayuu wanted to retalliate but Izumi was already snoring away, not giving her a chance to shout at him to get out even.

'_Argh geez. He is SO NOT NICE. What kind of angel is he! Even Daichii had the minimum traits of an angel! Him? He's a f*cking devil!'_ Ayuu thought as she sat at her table and looked at the dark green ribbon, '_Daichii... Why did you have to leave so early..? We could have had so much fun time together if I became an angel too...'_

"Ayuu! Your alarm has been ringing for over ten minutes now! Aren't you going to be late for your birthday date?!" her mother flung open the door and saw her sprawled across the floor, "And what are you doing sleeping on the floor without a blanket! You're gonna catch a cold!"  
"Mmmph, five more minutes mom..." Ayuu said kicking about.  
"What a pig," Izumi said as he was laying down next to her and stared straight at Ayuu's face when Ayuu woke up, giving her the shock of her life as she woke up instantaneously.  
"Finally! Get ready for your date! It's 1030 hrs already!" her mother said and left the room, closing the door.  
"What?" Izumi just asked while Ayuu was at the other end of the room, still shock from his face being so close to hers.  
"PERVERT! MOLESTOR!" Ayuu screamed in his face and he looked at her with eyes filled with annoyance.  
"Pervert? Monster? The f*ck? I merely placed my face next to your and you call me those?" Izumi said, heading towards her and stopped his face 1 cm away from hers.  
"You know what a pervert does? You know what a molestor does? Want me to do all those?" Izumi asked his face inching nearer bit by bit.  
"Sta- Stay away from me!" Ayuu said, pushing him away.  
"Hmph. Don't forget today at 1906. I'll be there," Izumi said and flew out of the window.

'_Ugh! How can I let Shiki be taken away by such a screwed up angel?!_ 'Ayuu thought as she walked towards the entrance of the aquarium in a pair of 3 inch pastel pink wedges, a lacey white mini dress and pastel pink newspaper boy cap.

"Ayuu!" she heard Shiki's voice fro a distance away and looked up, seeing Shiki dressed up in smart casual of white suit and dark blue skinny jeans waving at her as he stood right next to the aquarium's entrance."  
"Sorry I was late! Kind of overslept!" Ayuu said, running towards him.  
"That's alright, I got the tickets arleady so we can go in now," Shiki said and led the way in.

They toured the whole aquarium in excitement as they watch the fishes swim by and watched shows performed by aquatic animals. After they were done, they headed for lunch and Shiki then brought her to a mall.

"Where are we going?" Ayuu said hand-in-hand with Shiki with her eyes closed.  
"It's a surprise. Don't open your eyes 'kay. Just keep them closed until I say you can open them," Shiki said leading the way.

"Okay, now," Shiki said and Ayuu opened her eyes. She froze momentarily and just starred into space, as though she had been electrocuted.

She was standing in a bridal shop where bridal dresses were displayed all over along with many other bridal accessories.

"Like it?" Shiki asked, linking his arms with Ayuu's. Ayuu just kept still and speechless.  
"Ayuu?" Shiki asked, waving his hands and recevied a surprise hug from Ayuu. Ayuu then let go of him and said, "Wh- Why are we here?!"  
"To get your wedding dress?" Shiki stated the obvious.  
"I mean- I know we're here for the wedding dress but!" Ayuu said excitred, "I seriously thought we were gonna get married in our school uniform!"

For a moment the shop was pin-drop silent.

"What..?" Ayuu asked, looking around as the sles lady all stared at her in amusement. Suddenly, Shiki burst out laughing.  
"I was serious!" Ayuu said, trying to show how serious she is by waving her hands up and down which didn't seem serious at all and made Shiki laugh even more.  
"Hah... That was a good laugh! I mean, which girl thinks of getting married in her school uniform?" Shiki said and continued laughing while Ayuu had nothing to say.  
"Well I'm sorry for thinking that way!" Ayuu pouted and turned around, pouting. She then felt Shiki's arms around her and he was hugging her from the back when he said, "That's why I love you."

'_Uwahhh! The rare moment!'_ Ayuu thought, smiling to herself.

"Mister, we have prepared the wedding gown you have asked us to," a saleslady said as she approached the both of them.  
"Go on in and change," Shiki said, letting go of Ayuu as he pushed her towards the dressing room and the saleslady escorted her in.

_I didn't know I could look so pretty!_ Ayuu thought to herself as she admired her figure in the mirror. She wore a pure white full-length gown that brushed agaisnt the floor slightly. It had a sleeveless draped bias-cut neckline and a largely draped silver bow at the chest line area which sepearates the simple white silky top with the white laced bias cut bottom.

"Do you always stare at yourself in the mirror like that?" she heard a voice and looked up into the mirror but couldn't see the reflection of anyone.  
"You won't be able to see me from the mirror you moron," the person said and Ayuu thought, _'there's only one person who talks like that!'_  
"What are you doing in a girl's dressing room you freaking pervert!" Ayuu hissed, trying to keep her voice low.  
"Again with the pervert? I was just here out of courtesy to remind you that he is 4 hours away from his death. How ungrateful," Izumi said, and looked her up, "Plus you don't have the looks to even begin to catch my attention. Ugly."  
"What did you say?!" Ayuu riased her voice just a little.  
"What? He won't even be able to attend the wedding tomorrow? Why the fuss?" Izumi said, raising his eyebrow.  
"GET OUT!" Ayuu shouted this time and by the time she realised it had been too late. The saleslady rushed in to check if everything was okay and thought Ayuu was a lunatic when there was no one in the fitting room and Ayuu just smiled at her before she left.  
"Hmph. 1906 hrs. Don't forget," Izumi said and disappeared while Ayuu just collapsed to the ground and shedded tears, little by little as the thought of Shiki's coming death haunted her.

"I'm done..." Ayuu said softly as she emerged from the room and Shiki instantly rushed over to ask if she was okay.  
"Yeah I'm fine.. How do I... Look..?" she asked, nervous as it was her first time in such beautiful clothings. Shiki took minutes to judge her looks, making her nervous before he embraced her in his arms and said, "Perfect."

Ayuu smiled as she placed her hands around his waist and squeezed him tight before saying, "I love you.. I really love you..."  
"Yeah, I know," Shiki said as the two of them exchanged embraced while the salesladies admired them. One of them then cleares her throat after about five minutes, catching their attention and said, "So... Should I wrap this one up?"  
"Yes please," Shiki said, letting go of Ayuu as she made her way to get changed.

They then browsed around the shop for other accessories such as earings and the bridal veil and hairband.

"Uwahh! It's tomorrow!" Ayuu said as the both of them left the shop. By then, it was 1700 hrs and the sky was getting dimmer.  
"You nervous?" Shiki asked.  
"Quite... I hope I don't screw up the vows!" Ayuu replied anxiously as she linked her arms in his.  
"Now that you mention it, I think you might," Shiki said and started chuckling.  
"Hey! I'm not that bad you know!" Ayuu retaliated and the both of them started laughing as they made their way down the shopping street.  
"Hey where are we going next?" Ayuu asked, excited to where they might be meeting next.  
"We're going to... A secret!" Shiki said, smiling innnocently.  
"Another secret?!" Ayuu asked, "Just tell me already!"  
"Nah, it will just spoil the fun," Shiki said.

"Boat ride? A boat ride? And this is the surprise?" Ayuu asked, looking at the shabby house, unamused as she shifted her gaze to Shiki.  
"It's gonna be fun. I promise," Shiki said as she grabbed her hand and headed for the house.

They then took a 'romantic' boat ride in a run down boat that looked like it will give away anytime.

"I don't see what's so... fun about this..." Ayuu said, looking around as they entered a forested area.  
"Shh!" Shiki said, indicating her to keep quiet and she did.

Suddenly, there were spots of light appearing all around them as they went deeper into the area and before Ayuu knew it, the whole place were litted up with thousands of fireflies. It was so bright, it was as though it was dawn and there were beautiful aquatic and land plants surrounding them altogher.

"Uwahh!" Ayuu awed in delight, "This is amazing!"  
"I told you it'd be fun," Shiki said proudly.  
"How egoistic!" Ayuu said and the both of them enjoyed the rest of the ride in joy and laughter.

"Wah, that was awesome! Today was such a fun day!" Ayuu said, extremely happy about the date Shiki had planned for her birthday.  
"The best has yet to come, hurry!" Shiki said and they were suddenly running down the crowded street.  
"Wa- Wait up!" Ayuu huffed, out of breath, "Where are we going next?"  
"We're here," Shiki said and Ayuu looked up and saw an outdoor skating rink.  
"An outdoor skating rink? But it's summer! People skate outdoors usually when it's winter time!" Ayuu stated-as-a-matter-of-factly.  
"That's true..." Shiki said, realising that only now, "But oh well, this isn't the best part yet."  
"Huh?" Ayuu said but before she knew it, she was already on the ice, slipping every 2 glides she take while Shiki was there to support her.  
"How can you do this so well?" Ayuu asked, tired as she stopped for a while near the middle of the rink.  
"Come here," Shiki said, dragging her to the middle.  
"Why are we stopping in the middle?" Ayuu asked and suddenly, Shiki was down on one knee and everyone was crowded around them.  
"Shi.. Ki..?" Ayuu asked.  
"I know you've already accepted my informal hand in marriage but I thought I'd do a proper one in the least so..." Shiki said, taking out a ring box from his pocket and presented it in front of her.

"Chiyako Ayuu," he said, showing her s nice simple silver ring with a small diamond in the middle, "Will you marry me?"

The whole crowd wow-ed as though on cue as tears fell out of Ayuu's eyes.

"You idiot," were the first two words that came out from her mouth, "You didn't tell me anything about your illness though we have dated for over 4 years. And you never once treated me nicely till recently. Plus you know I wouldn't be able to say no..."

"So..?" Shiki asked.  
"Yes... Yes..!" Ayu managed to mumble out from her mought as she hurled herself onto Shiki, giving him a hug as the crowd cheered and shouted. Just then, fireworks appeared in the sky and eveeryone including Ayuu turned to look as Shiki said, "Just nice."  
"You... How do you know there were gonna be fireworks..?" Ayuu asked, looking at Shiki.  
"I didn't," Shiki smiled, getting up to hug her, "I made them happen."  
"I love you..." Shiki said as he squeezed her in his arms tight and Ayuu returned it while saying, "Me too..."

"Today has been the best day of my life!" Ayuu said gleefully as the both of them walked on a brige across a lake.  
"Yeah..." Shiki said and suddenly, he was coughing and blood came out of his mouth and he soon passed out.  
"Shiki?!" Ayuu shouted, fearing it was the time, "Shike what's wrong?! Are you alright?! Hang in there! Please! I'm going to call the ambulance! Ambulance!"

"It's no use. It's 1901 hrs already," Izumi said, stading on the handrail of the bridge.  
"No..." Ayuu said, falling to the ground as she cried out loud "No.. It can't be.. Please... Please don't take him away..."  
"But I have to. That's the job of an angel. Didin't Daichii tell you anything?" Izumi said as he jumped onto the bridge.  
"No..!" Ayuu shouted, hiding Shiki behind her, "Please! Don't take him away! Take me! Take my life instead! Please!"  
"I can't take your life away," Izumi said, standing in front of her.  
"You can! I know you can!" Ayuu shouted at him with tears in her red-teared eyes.  
"How do you..." Izumi was cut off by Ayuu, "I know you can take mine and I know the conditions! Please..! Take me instead! I beg of you!"  
"But," izumi was once again cut off, "Just take it please..! I.. I really love him..."  
"You... You're giving up your life for him?" Izumi asked.  
"You did the same right..? That's why you're an angel... I love him and I'll do anything for him to be happy..! If he can live longer and find another woman he loves, I'm willing to give up my life for his..! Please... Take my life... I beg of you..." Ayuu begged at her knees.

Izumi just starred at her, remembering his past self and crouched down next to her, "You won't regret this?"  
"I won't," Ayuu said confidently, biting her lips as she looked at Shiki.  
"Very well," Izumi said as he inched closer towards her but was stop by Ayuu.  
"What? I thought you're exchanging your life?" Izumi asked.  
"Give me a few seconds..." Ayuu said and turned around.

She admired how Shiki's silver hair basked in the bright full-moonlight before beding down and give him a light kiss and whispered, "I love you... And I will forever.. Even if you have forgotten about me and find another woman you can love... You will always be the one for me... Please... Lead a good long life..."

"I'll be taking it then," Izumi said, inching his face closer to hers.  
"Wait.. Must we kiss to take my life..?" Ayuu asked, suspicious.  
"... Yeah," Izumi said and Ayuu shut her eyes tight as Izumi's lips landed on hers and her soul lifted from her body and as she watched her body being put on flames and vanished into dust, the only thing that remained were the silver ribbons Shiki had given to her that fell to the ground. Along with her wedding ring...

End of Season 1


End file.
